As a range in which content sharing applications such as Mobile Social Software (MoSoSo) is applied gradually increases, contents have been gradually used by a variety of users. Users are grouped depending on their common interests, and, generally, members in each group exchange content with each other.
Contents are media to express user's experiences or interests, and the sharing thereof can be a method for creating and maintaining social relationships.
A contents request/reply function is the most important part in the execution of contents sharing applications. In order to support this function, a routing technique is required to transmit contents, and a contents caching technique can be used to improve performance in retrieving contents. In fact, caching and routing in a mobile ad hoc network are closely related to each other. Caching is for improving the efficiency of multi-hop request/reply, and a path through which content is transferred (that is, determining who will transmit contents and which contents will be transmitted and cached) is determined by routing.
Therefore, a request for contents needs be transmitted along a path in which the probability of obtaining the requested contents is high, and a reply for contents must be transmitted along a path in which the probability of caching contents received as a reply for later use is high.
Therefore, although routing protocols need to be operated in cooperation with a caching scheme, Internet Protocol (IP) routing protocols in a conventional mobile ad hoc network consider only their own efficiency.
Further, as described above, when contents are shared between members of a group having a similar interest, it can be predicted who will consume contents and which contents will be consumed from the fact that two users' interests are similar to each other. That is, content request/reply efficiency can be improved by applying the users' interests to routing.
Up to date, research on various techniques for applying the requirements of applications to routing protocols has been conducted. For example, there has been research into a technique which considers the Quality of Service (QoS) of an application to be a principal factor used in determining a routing path.
However, no conventional routing method presents technology which considers users' interests as a principal factor to set a routing path for a mobile ad hoc network.